huawei

It's phablet day across the world as tipsters pointing toward three new elephant-sized smartphone devices leak a Nokia Lumia Juggernaut (code-name), an 8.5-inch Huawei un-named unit, and the Samsung Galaxy Note III. The Samsung unit is what we'd vote Most Likely to Succeed - or in this case Most Likely to Exist - in 2013 as each time a new Samsung Galaxy Note (non-tablet-sized) has been released thus far, it's gotten bigger than the last iteration. After that we've got to put our skeptic goggles on tight for all the salt that's flying our way.

In a move to make itself even more dominant, and possibly to say "hi" to Nokia, Chinese handset manufacturer Huawei will be investing €70 million ($90 million) to open up a research and development center in Helsinki, Finland. The company says it will invest the money in the facility over the next five years, and plans to double its workforce in Europe over the next few years.

If it were ever time for another Android tablet with a thin frame and a 10.1-inch display, it's now, and it's Huawei who's bringing this device into the world. Huawei makes a valiant effort at creating a tablet with the MediaPad 10 FHD, and it does indeed bring on an impressive package, especially for media playback. If you're looking for the most massively impressive tablet on the market - this isn't it - but if you do have this device on your radar and wonder if it's worth the cash, let me give you a spoiler: it's definitely nice to watch a movie on, but that's just about where it ends.

Huawei is a Chinese company that offers all sorts of hardware for mobile networks and other network systems. The Chinese company has been at the center of spying allegations made by the US government suggesting that Huawei may be allowing the Chinese government access to American network systems. Huawei continues to strenuously object to these claims and has offered access to its source code in an attempt to prove it's not facilitating Chinese spying on America.

Amidst the accusations of espionage and claims of innocence, Huawei is still plugging along in the US. Starting today, the Huawei Ascend Y smartphone is available at US Cellular for a mere $30 with a two-year contract. According to the press release, this low-end gadget is aimed at consumers who need "a multi-functional, easy-to-use device."

Earlier this month, Huawei was one of two Chinese manufacturers (the other being ZTE) accused of potentially spying for the Chinese government. The US House Intelligence Committee recommended that the company be avoided. Huawei retorted that the accusations are baseless, and now has offered to provide unrestricted access to its software code to prove its innocence.

Cricket Wireless has added a new option to its lineup for users who need a 4G supporting USB modem for their laptop or desktop computer. The product is called the Huawei Boltz Modem. The modem is the first 4G device to land on the cricket wireless network.

Last week, Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE were accused of potentially spying for the Chinese government, with the US House Intelligence Committee recommending that both companies be avoided, and that acquisitions and mergers be blocked in the US. A couple days later, Canada reconsidered using Huawei as part of its upcoming government communications network due to the concerns expressed by US lawmakers. Now, according to a Reuter's source, a White House review found no evidence that Huawei is spying.

With the Huawei Ascend D1 quad XL, the team brings us what at first appears to be a powerhouse of a smartphone with a giant battery to boot. As it turns out, the processor doesn't take down its competitors in Samsung, Qualcomm, or NVIDIA, but certainly does nice enough to keep up with them in many ways. You're certainly able to play high-powered games, videos play smoothly even at their highest of definitions, and the whole smartphone is easily Huawei's most powerful to date. The lack of uniqueness in the build of the device, on the other hand, should remind you of Huawei's competitors' devices from this past year - it's put us on guard right out of the box, but ends up proving to be far less important than the end product, which is great.